He famously lost a debate with Mipham Rinpoche which was moderated by Patrul Rinpoche. They debated for several days, yet when they started to discuss the topic of Dzogchen he clearly lost the debate. In his trilogy on the original mind (gnyug sems skor gsum), Mipham Rinpoche also mentions 'the position of Gyawa Dongak', which he then refutes.

In one of his biographies,[1] Dudjom Lingpa says of Alak Dongak Gyatso, “He is a lord among scholars”. But unfortunately his works are deemed lost at present. Alak Dongak Gyatso advised Anam Wangchen to sponsor Dudjom Lingpa and to request him to do a recitation practice for himself.